The Gorge (The Others Book 1)

by Joe Zeigler

  “Have you given thought to joining the Traders, as you promised?” he asked with a hopeful look.

  Again, Micaela was unsure of the full meaning of his offer. He seemed old to be asking to mate with her. How old is he? Well, she concluded, he is either inviting me to go into business with the Traders or asking me to mate with him. I’m not ready for either, so it makes no difference. The answer is no.

  “I have, Gedeon. I have taken your offer very seriously and have considered it from every point of view and every possibility. Your invitation is beyond anything that I have previously hoped for or expected. You honor me, and I thank you.” She paused.

  “But?”

  “Yes, yes…I know Ohad has not been gone very long. However, in that short time I have learned to value and to treasure my new independence. I want to be free, at least for a little while. I want to take over Ohad’s trading business, and make it into a thing I can be proud of, a thing of my own. I have no plans to compete with you and the Traders. I will continue to bring you baskets, and if you would like, you can sell any of the other products I plan to make. I will be proud to supply them to you as a straight-up business deal.”

  “I see,” Gedeon said, smiling. “What other products are you planning?”

  “The girls and I are now producing leaf plates. And as you may know, Ohad has an arrangement with Itzli of the Cliff Dwellers for combs. I will explain to Itzli what happened and that I am taking Ohad’s place. I don’t think Itzli will have a problem with that. Then we plan to explore the clay deposits for the possibility of producing plates, cups, jars, and such. I’ll discuss that with the Cliff Dwellers also, as they make their clay products for their own use from that source but do not trade in them. Ixchel is considering making maize cakes that she would like to sell next to your prepared-food vendor, or your vendor might trade directly with us. I also would like to inventory the hemp rope made by the Cliff Dwellers. I plan to explore the river route—the one the Raiders took to flank us—as a way to transport goods downriver. River transport would save a lot of effort, especially as the Raiders’ route bypassed the big drop.” She paused, excited and out of breath.

  “You have been thinking,” Gedeon said. “That is a very ambitious plan. It reinforces my desire to have you join us.”

  She started to speak.

  He cut her off. “Micaela, I understand and respect your wish for independence and will press this no further.”

  “Thank you, Gedeon. I am happy to hear this. I’m sure our two businesses will prosper.” She lowered her eyes, then her head, and looked up at him shyly. “How old are you, Gedeon?”

  Gedeon laughed loudly and long, losing his breath and choking. Micaela turned bright red in embarrassment. “I’m sorry, Micaela; it was just so out of character. I am twenty-three seasons old. I come from good family; I am the leader of the Traders, and I have my own trading business and have no need of yours. I believe it possible for you to enjoy your independence while I enjoy your body, as I already enjoy your company. And I pray to Sun that you enjoy the experience as well.”

  There it is, Micaela thought, on the table, bright and shining.

  “And children?” Micaela asked seriously. “I’m of age, but again, I don’t feel ready. There is so much to do.”

  “OK,” Gedeon replied.

  “OK then, we must give this some thought. Somehow, talking about such a thing so plainly doesn’t seem very romantic.”

  “Overrated,” Gedeon replied.

  “Good food,” Micaela commented, blushing and changing the subject. Looking around at the multitude of people enjoying the prepared meal, she said, “Who would have thought?”

  That evening, around the fire, the girls sat, ate the food prepared by Ederra, and talked.

  “I don’t like this pregnancy. I would like to eat the herb tonight,” Ederra said.

  “Have you spoken to Liùsaidh about the Breeding?” Micaela asked.

  “No, no, I decided not to. I think I know her opinion, and anyway, this is my decision. I don’t want a child, without a mate, and I’ll never attract a mate in this condition.”

  “Are you sure?” Eijá asked, concerned.

  “Yes, there is more to it…a lot more. When I think of the child within me, I see an image of those ugly old men on top of me, pounding, again and again. I fear those wicked men have seeded an evil child that I want out of me.”

  Micaela stood, disappeared into the dwelling, and returned with a cup of blue agave. “Drink this, and you will be done with it, and with them.” She sat facing them both. “Gedeon told me today that he will take as many baskets as we can produce and will consider our other products. When our trading business, which is off to a good start, is successful, we will be wealthy and powerful. Powerful enough to protect ourselves from such as the Breeding or forced mating of any kind. We will determine what happens to us and whom we lie with.”

  “But, Micaela,” Ederra protested, after calmly emptying the cup of agave, “we are women. How can we have such power?”

  “Yes, women—but successful, wealthy women, and that’s all the difference.”

  Later, after Ederra had retired, the fire’s embers cooled, and Eijá banked them. She and Micaela sat by the now cold fire and talked long into the night.

  “Do you think Gwuune is the one?” Micaela asked.

  “I don’t know,” Eijá replied, blushing. “I don’t know. He knows what happened to me. How could he want me?”

  “How is that?” Micaela asked. “I don’t know all that happened. You never talk about it. I just know the Raiders raped you.”

  “It was much worse than that. They killed the boy I was going to mate with. Then they tied me and used me like an animal, worse than we would treat an animal, finally leaving me to die. That is how they found me—cold, naked, and tied to a tree.”

  “Eijá, that is not your fault, your doing, or something you could have done anything about. You should learn, and learn to forget. And exactly how does Gwuune know what happened? You were not foolish enough to tell him, were you?”

  “No, Micaela, he and Cuidightheach were the ones who found me. The two of them cut me down. I don’t remember, of course. I think I was dead…frozen. Gwuune saved my life. He sent me up.”

  “Did he now…” Micaela said, surprised. “I have never believed in those stories. I have known of many people who were sent up, but none who ever returned. It’s a tale.”

  “Well, now you do know someone. The Sun does exist, and he and his disciples saved me. Gwuune saved me. You don’t have to believe, but I know.”

  “OK, whatever…What else is bothering you about Gwuune? Whatever you may fear, his knowledge of your misfortune is not deterring him, and you know it. What else is troubling you?”

  Eijá sat for a few moments. “I don’t know what to do. I’ve had no experience with mating except a bad one. I’m afraid I’ll do it wrong, and Gwuune will never want me again. There, that’s the truth.”

  “Me too,” Micaela said.

  “Really?” Eijá said, surprised. “I thought, well, you always seem so sure of yourself. I didn’t think anything could frighten you.”

  “Oh, yes, Eijá, many things frighten me, more so now that I know they are real. Mating draws me despite what happened. But it worries me, especially since Gedeon is older and certainly experienced. He will undoubtedly be disappointed with me. And I am still unsure about his intentions. I want a family, children…just not yet.”

  “I feel better. You are worse off than I.” She grinned broadly.

  “Maybe, maybe. Let’s visit Liùsaidh and ask her what we should do.”

  Their mood lightened. Eijá smiled broadly and said, “You’re in love with Gedeon!”

  “No, no, not at all,” Micaela replied. “I’m in love with the thought of having a little one like him. He’s so symmetrical, so strong, and smart. Smart is important. But that’s so easy to forget when you are absorbed with imagining the length of his staff.”
r />   They both laughed and went off to bed smiling.

  Men

  The next morning Ederra woke with a feeling of tranquility and relief. Now I know I’ve done the right thing. Today, right now, I’ll put the terrible past behind me and begin new, free of what those nasty old men did to me…free.

  Later she and Micaela walked up to Danijel’s encampment to visit Liùsaidh. Both felt in need of wisdom and solace.

  “It is not about the first time,” Liùsaidh was saying. “Seducing him the first time is easy if your features are symmetrical, well sized, and decently placed; your hips wide enough to pass an intelligent child’s head; your legs long enough to successfully run for your life—and your child’s—and your tits adequate to feed three.”

  Ederra cupped her breasts with both hands and appeared to weigh them, bouncing them a little and frowning.

  “You’re fine,” Micaela assured her. “Any man would love to suck on those. I might enjoy them myself.” Ederra blushed.

  “There sure is a lot of blushing going on,” Liùsaidh commented. “So, remember the goal is to capture the seed. It’s simple. After he feeds you, drop to your knees in front of him. You keep this up until he is beyond stopping and ready to mount you. Then you draw back, before the seed is wasted, and pull him down onto you. Don’t worry. He will do the rest.”

  “That’s all?” Ederra asked.

  “That’s all.” Liùsaidh smiled. “I told you it is easy to get a man to mount you once. Nature demands that they spread the seed. Once they have done so, other imperatives will prevail.”

  Ixchel returned from her washing chores by the river and, hearing voices, investigated. “What’s going on here?”

  “Oh, nothing much,” Ederra answered.

  “No, nothing,” Micaela agreed.

  “They want to know about sex. So I am instructing them,” Liùsaidh injected, looking back and forth at the girls. “So, what, aren’t you two going to blush?”

  “Hey, count me in,” Ixchel said, taking a seat.

  “OK, what’s so important about the second time?” Ederra asked.

  “You have to be interesting, make him laugh. And all of this goes in the other direction, too. You must like him, find him attractive, and he must be able to make you laugh, or a long-term mating is not going to work. If you fail, it’s time to go on to the next.”

  “That method makes it hard to retain your virginity,” Ixchel observed.

  “Ah, a myth that exists only in men’s minds,” Liùsaidh said, laughing.

  All four of the girls expressed an emotion somewhere between confusion and shock. “What do you mean?”

  “Virgins…a myth, a crack in reality that we all accept. There are no virgins for practical purposes, or to put it another way, there may be or have been virgins, but none for the purpose that men imagine. And men don’t really want actual virgins. That would be awful. It would be embarrassing. They prefer women with at least a little experience, equal to theirs. A man whom you would want is smart enough to know that he and his friends cannot have accumulated sexual experiences without females accumulating some. It’s silly.”

  The girls looked thoughtful as they pondered this shocking information. It made sense but was profoundly opposed to what they had been taught. Then Liùsaidh continued, and they talked for hours until Danijel came home and shooed the girls away.

  Back at the dwelling, encouraged by Liùsaidh’s openness, Eijá told the other girls everything about her horrible experience, expanding on what she had told Micaela earlier. How they killed her lover and some details about her abuse by the Raiders.

  When she was finished, there was a pause, and then she said, “You must promise not to tell anyone else of my shame.”

  “That is awful,” Ixchel said. “That is worse than the Breeding. They could have killed you.”

  “They did their best and would have killed me if it were not for Gwuune.”

  “Gwuune! He is the one that found you? That’s amazing,” Ixchel said.

  “I don’t remember it. I was told that I was near death when Gwuune and Cuidightheach found me naked, bound, and frozen. They know of my shame.”

  “Yes,” Ederra said, “it was a terrible thing. But it wasn’t your fault. You didn’t do anything and certainly did not encourage them. There is no shame…Nothing to be ashamed about.”

  Eijá started to cry. “But there is something to be ashamed about,” she whispered between the sobs. “My body betrayed me. When the Raiders were preparing me for a second assault, my body responded against my will. I became flush, my nipples were swollen, and I felt heat and wetness down there”—she blushed—“you know, down there. The same thing happened while Ohad was propositioning me to service his old men. At the same time, I was horrified and disgusted my body was preparing against my will.”

  “Yeah,” Ederra scoffed, “there is often a difference between what the mind thinks and what the body wants. The men want us to feel it’s our fault as if they do not have their own problems.”

  Surveying the River

  “Let’s take a trip,” Micaela said. “It’s not yet too cold to visit the Cliff Dwellers, pick up some combs from Itzli. Ohad traded his entire stock for flint. We can also examine the clay that is available for harvest, explore the river route, and get away from this for a while. We’ll get away from these males and clear our minds. When we return, we’ll be prepared to make decisions and deal with them.”

  “Good idea. It’s going to take me some time to think about what Liùsaidh has told us.”

  “We’ll have to have guards, some men,” Ederra said.

  “Well,” Micaela said, “that defeats the purpose.”

  “I agree with Ederra,” Eijá said. “We four girls cannot go traveling around by ourselves. That kind of thing isn’t done, and we wouldn’t last a week.”

  “Yes, we would,” Ixchel said. “Danijel and Liùsaidh have been teaching me how to use weapons and to fight. I will teach you…We’ll arm ourselves, and we’ll be OK.”

  “OK, it’s settled then,” Micaela said. “We’ll leave in a week.”

  “A week? We’re not leaving immediately?”

  “We’ll need to buy weapons and a cache of obsidian for trade. All we have to trade now are baskets and leaf plates. If we all work hard at it, we will have enough to fill our needs in a week’s time. Also, during the next week, Ixchel can teach us to defend ourselves—if she will.”

  “I will,” Ixchel said. “I have to talk with Danijel and Liùsaidh about going. I am their daughter and cannot go without their permission.”

  Later that afternoon, after some intense discussion, Liùsaidh eventually agreed that Ixchel’s trip with the girls was a good idea. It just remained to bring Danijel to the idea.

  “Danijel, Ixchel can teach the other three to defend themselves. You have taught Ixchel very well. She is now a ferocious adversary, having been instructed by the best. They will be all right, though it would be better if Ixchel had some experience. But she can still teach the theory. It will be fine.”

  “All right, all right,” Danijel said, laughing—this woman could always make him laugh. “I’ll give them all lessons. You have to help.”

  If they had not been sure before, this planned trip confirmed the girls’ decision to terminate their unwanted pregnancies.

  Both Gwuune and Gedeon stopped by to visit with their respective girls, only to be told they were too busy to visit with them. And that was the truth—Ixchel and Eijá worked from dawn to after sunset gathering materials, and Micaela and Ederra wove as long as light would permit. Their output was prodigious. Also, they were spending four hours a day in combat training with Danijel and Liùsaidh. The days went by quickly.

  Then it was time to leave. Outfitted with warm furs—it would be cold up there this time of year—a generous supply of dried meat, and a spear, a knife, and axe for each, they were ready. On the morning of their departure, Danijel, Liùsaidh, Gwuune, and Gedeon were there to see t
hem on their way.

  Gedeon gave Micaela a heartfelt hug and presented her with his most prized possession—the beautiful obsidian knife Aitor had made for him. “May this protect you always, wherever you travel, and when you feel it in your hand, think of me.” He had made a scabbard for it and suspended this from a leather thong, which he hung around her neck, tucking the knife between her breasts.

  She put her hand on the back of his head, drew him to her, and kissed him deeply. “Thank you, Gedeon.”

  “Ladies,” Danijel said, “be cautious—one week of training does not make you warriors. I want you to practice what I have taught you every day, twice a day. Spend an hour in the morning before you set out and another hour before your evening meal. Combat is not a matter of outsmarting your opponent on the spot. You win by having trained reactions. You win by practice; you win when your body knows what to do before you do.”

  The girls nodded simultaneously.

  After another round of hugs, they were finally off, hiking north around the great lake. The four young girls moved much faster than the migration, even uphill, and it wasn’t long before they were on the plateau overlooking the valley and the city.

  To the west, they could see the tall mesa that split the river and stood higher than what surrounded it. The tabletop was the holiest of all places for everyone.

  Strangely, Micaela thought, for different reasons.

  The Sun worshipers believed it to be holy because the Sun shone on it in the morning, before anything else, and it was still glowing in the evening after all other places had gone dark. The sect who followed the God in the Sky believed their God was born a mortal and rose, adopted by the Supreme Force, to become their God. The tabletop was sacred to them because it was the closest place in the world to their God in the Sky.

  That’s not even true, Micaela thought. There are many mountains higher than the mesa—it is strange. The worshipers believed a man and his woman had been created there on top and had lived in peace with all the animals of the world until they had disobeyed the Creator. Then they had to climb down and live among the mortals. Micaela knew of a few other sects with different and even stranger beliefs, but she couldn’t remember them all. She knew the result of these various beliefs was that no one could go to the tabletop without garnering the wrath of the other sects. And they were serious about defending their sacred ground. If anyone were to try to ascend the sacred mesa, blood would be shed.